The Ultimate Synthetic Fuels Quiz

Synthetic fuels are one just one alternative to oil. Some synfuels are better for the environment, some are worse. Some are made from rocks found deep under the earth, and some are made from the trash in your local landfill. See what you know about the various types of synfuels in our ultimate synthetic fuels quiz.

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Question 1 of 20

What is the definition of a synfuel?

Any fuel that is made by chemically manipulating hydrocarbon molecules to resemble conventional fuels.

Short for synthetic fuel, synfuel describes any fuel that is created through chemically manipulating organic matter so that its hydrocarbons are similar to the hydrocarbons found in petroleum-based fuels. "Synthetic" can be misleading, since all synfuels are made from organic material.

Any fuel that is made from inorganic materials.

Any fuel that is made from synthesizing two different varieties of fuel together.

Any fuel that is made from synthesizing more than two different varieties of fuels together.

Question 2 of 20

How is syncrude different from synfuel?

Syncrude is an early stage in synfuel production.

Syncrude is a type of synfuel.

Syncrude, short for synthetic crude, is a type of synfuel that must be refined to produce a final product, just like regular crude oil. All synthetic crudes are synfuels, but not all synfuels are synthetic crudes.

Syncrude is not as expensive as synfuel.

Syncrude is much more expensive than synfuel.

Question 3 of 20

What is CTL?

Crude-to-liquid fuel

Coal-to-liquid fuel

CTL, or coal-to-liquid fuel, describes synthetic fuel that is created by smashing coal, gasifying it and condensing it into liquid fuel.

Cobalt-to-liquid fuel

Carbon-to-liquid fuel

Question 4 of 20

What is feedstock?

Grains fed to cows to help produce methane-based fuels

Any organic material used to produce synfuels

Feedstock is a blanket term used to describe the coal, natural gas, or biomass used to produce synthetic fuels. By the time it is converted to fuel, the feedstock will have been crushed, burned, gasified and liquefied, and won't resemble the raw material at all.

Animal waste that is used to produce synfuels

Animal organs and byproducts used to produce synfuels

Question 5 of 20

What is BTL?

Bitumen-to-liquid fuel

Biomass-to-liquid fuel

BTL, or biomass-to-liquid fuel, is a type of synthetic fuel that is made from relatively fresh organic matter, instead of fossil fuels. The biomass in question can be plant waste, wood, or organic waste from a landfill.

Barium-to-liquid fuel

Beryllium-to-liquid fuel

Question 6 of 20

True or False: An experimental form of synfuel in the early stages of development would be manufactured by isolating the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and converting it to fuel.

TRUE

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown, in theory, the possibility of producing synfuel using captured atmospheric carbon dioxide. The only drawback: Each facility might need its own nuclear power plant to power the energy-intensive process.

FALSE

Question 7 of 20

Which of the following is NOT a current limitation on the production of synfuels?

The relatively high cost of production

Difficulty accessing feedstock

Lack of available feedstock

Especially in the U.S., Canada and South America, available feedstock such as coal, oil sands, oil shale and natural gas are abundant. The problem comes in the high costs of facilities and production, and the lack of technology for gathering feedstock that is buried deep underground.

Lack of technology

Question 8 of 20

What is the Fischer-Tropsch process?

A type of chemical reaction used to produce synfuels.

The Fischer-Tropsch is a chemical reaction used to produce synfuels. The reaction involves applying heat and pressure to a feedstock in the presence of a catalyst, in order to change the arrangement of hydrocarbons and produce synthetic fuels and other products. The fuels are naturally cleaner and purer than their petroleum-based counterparts.

A type of chemical reaction that occurs underground when oil is formed.

A procedure for collecting hard-to-reach fossil fuels from underground.

The technology used to separate hydrocarbon from oil shale.

Question 9 of 20

When and where was the Fischer-Tropsch process and synfuel technology originally developed?

In 1982 in South Africa

In 1958 in the United States

In 1923 in Germany

Two German scientists, Franz Fischer and Hal Tropsch, invented the Fischer-Tropsch process in 1923.

In 1964 in Japan

Question 10 of 20

What is GTL?

Ground-to-liquids fuel

Grain-to-liquids fuel

Gas-to-liquids fuel

The "gas" in gas-to-liquids fuel is natural gas, which can be altered through an introduction of chemicals, heat and pressure to produce a liquid synthetic fuel.

Grass-to-liquids fuel

Question 11 of 20

What is shale oil?

A variety of oil that has been contaminated underground.

A type of synthetic crude oil processed from rocks.

The shale rocks that are processed to create shale oil are commonly called "oil shale." But oil shale is actually a rock called marlstone, a naturally occurring rock rich in a substance called kerogen that can be processed and converted into syncrude.

A type of synthetic fuel that is darker and thicker than crude oil.

A synthetic fuel that has the coloring of marlstone rocks.

Question 12 of 20

True or False: Synthetic fuels were a vital part of the war strategy of Nazi Germany.

TRUE

Because Germany and its allies had limited access to oil reserves during World War II, the Nazis took advantage of synfuels technologies that had been developed in the country years earlier in order to fuel its planes and tanks.

FALSE

Question 13 of 20

What are oil sands?

A sandy mixture left over after oil is refined.

An oily mixture left over after synfuel is made.

A naturally occurring material that can be used to make syncrude.

Oil sands are natural deposits that have been corroded by bacteria over time that include a mix of sand, clay, water and a substance called bitumen. The bitumen is similar to oil, and can be processed to produce a form of syncrude.

The Gulf beaches damaged during the 2010 oil spill.

Question 14 of 20

What is extra heavy oil?

A variety of oil that creates more pollutants when burned.

Botched syncrude that has been damaged during the production process

A more viscous form of oil used to produce syncrude.

A naturally occurring substance, extra heavy oil is very similar to conventional oil, except that it is far more viscous. It can be refined to make syncrude.

A top-tier level of syncrude oil processed especially for SUVs.

Question 15 of 20

What would have to happen to the price of crude oil to make synthetic fuels more economically viable?

The price of crude oil would have to increase significantly.

Because synthetic fuels are much more expensive to produce than conventional oil, crude oil prices would have to increase dramatically before most types of synfuels would be considered economically viable to many manufacturers.

The price of crude oil would have to decrease significantly.

The price of crude oil would have to stabilize for at least 10 years

The price of crude oil would have to stabilize for at least 20 years

Question 16 of 20

Production of synfuels creates which of the following byproducts that can later be sold?

Tar

Heavy metals

Impurities contained in feedstocks can be easily filtered out of the synfuel when it is a gaseous state. Heavy metals collect at the bottom of synfuels gasifiers and can then be resold to help defray the costs of the operation.

Petroleum jelly

Water

Question 17 of 20

What is syngas?

A toxic byproduct of synfuels production.

A mixture of gases used to produce synfuels.

Short for synthesis gas, syngas is the mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that is produced from heating and compressing feedstock. The syngas is the main ingredient, along with catalysts like cobalt and iron, that fuels the Fischer-Tropsch reaction.

Any type of gasoline made from synthetic feedstock.

A chemical catalyst used to produce gasoline.

Question 18 of 20

At least one country has been regularly manufacturing synfuels for more than 30 years. Name the country.

Australia

China

South Africa

Synthetic fuels, including GTLs and CTLs, have been a major part of the South African oil economy since the 1970s.

Germany

Question 19 of 20

The United States has enough estimated reserves of oil shale to meet the country's fossil fuel needs for approximately how many years?

10 years

15 years

100 years

At current consumption levels, the oil shale deposits in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming could fuel the United States for a century. Those oil shale deposits are still largely untapped.

200 years

Question 20 of 20

How is bitumen different from conventional crude oil?

It is thicker and more viscous.

Bitumen, the naturally occurring substance that can be found in oil sands deposits, is far thicker and more viscous than conventional crude oil. Through extensive production processes, including rinsing with hot water and exposing to heat, bitumen can be processed to make syncrude.